


The Forbidden Country

by badly_knitted



Category: Beauty and the Beast (TV 1987)
Genre: Character Study, Community: fic_promptly, F/M, Gen, Introspection, Wishful Thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 05:17:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13757094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badly_knitted/pseuds/badly_knitted
Summary: Vincent is content with his life in the World Below. Most of the time.





	The Forbidden Country

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my own prompt ‘Beauty and the Beast (TV series), Vincent, He wishes he could go out in daylight,’ at fic_promptly.

Vincent is well used to the soft lighting of the tunnels and caverns where he lives in safety, surrounded by the other outcasts from the World Above who have found sanctuary there. For the most part it’s a place of peace, where people help each other, sharing what they have, although like any place where people live close together, there are sometimes disagreements and disputes that Father must settle. Nevertheless, Vincent knows enough about the World Above through his reading to be aware that the lives of those below are more harmonious than their counterparts in the city beneath which they make their homes.

It’s a good life, and it suits him, but there are times when he grows restless and the tunnels feel too small and constricting to contain the depth and breadth of his thoughts. His hunger to learn and to know is endless; there is only so much to be experienced in the small part of the world to which he belongs, and so when the restlessness becomes too much to bear, he ventures above, but only in the dark of night, where shadows can conceal him from eyes that would not understand or accept what he is, neither man nor beast. Vincent is comfortable with his form, but strangers would not be as kind to him as his friends are. People fear anyone who is different, as if they carry some contagion that might be passed on with no more than a look.

Above ground, it’s a different world. The tunnels have their seasons, in their own way, but there is no weather down there. Vincent relishes the feel of the wind tugging at his cloak, snatching his breath from his lungs. It’s fierce, primal, and it makes him feel almost as if he could fly. Snow turns the World Above into a wonderland, storms fill him with awe, lighting splitting the darkness overhead while thunder crashes and rolls, echoing among the canyons formed by the city’s skyscrapers. Even rain has its place, although being sodden and dripping is not a particularly pleasurable experience; gentle showers are infinitely preferable to heavy downpours. Almost best of all are foggy nights, lending an air of mystery to sights that would otherwise be familiar, even commonplace. On such nights he can slip unseen through areas he would usually avoid because they’re too well lit, shrouded by the damp and clinging greyness as much as by his cloak.

That’s the worst part of being who he is, having to always hide in the darkness and shadows, shunning the light. More than anything, Vincent longs to walk in daylight, basking in the warmth of the sun. He pictures himself on a bright spring day, strolling through the park with Catherine, passing beneath trees laden with blossom, pink and white petals drifting down, scattering the ground beneath their feet and catching in Catherine’s hair. It’s a beautiful dream, but he knows it can never be more than that. For him, the world of daylight is a forbidden country; there is no place for him there and he has no choice but to accept that fact, for his own safety, and that of the World Below.

The End


End file.
